STA442/1008: Methods of Applied Statistics

University of Toronto Mississauga, Winter/Spring 2012

Revised following a vote in class on Feb. 14th

http://fisher.utstat.toronto.edu/~brunner/442s12

Lecture: Tuesday 11:10 - 1:00 and Thursday 11:10 - 12:00 in NE 201

Note: Jerry does not read his email every day. It is much more efficient to talk with him before or after class, or during office hours.

Tutorial: Friday 9:10-10:00 in IB 350 and 11:10-12:00 in CC 2130

Text: There is no textbook for this course at the bookstore. A free online text will be available on the course home page. The first few chapters are posted now. Material in the text overlaps with lectures.

Topics: Vocabulary of data analysis, Tests of statistical significance, Principles of research design, Elementary significance tests, Introduction to unix, Introduction to SAS, Multiple regression, Factorial ANOVA, Random effects models, Multivariate analysis of variance, Analysis of within-cases designs (repeated measures). If time permits, other topics depending on the interests of students.

Prerequisite: Any introductory statistics class, taught by any department.

Grading: Marks will be based on equally weighted weekly quizzes given in tutorial, unannounced pop quizzes given in lecture, and a comprehensive final exam. Grduate students will do a data analysis project using real data from their fields of study in place of the final exam. Percentages are as follows:

Graduate students, please briefly discuss your projects with Jerry before beginnig work. Midway through the course would be a reasonable time to start. Guidelines for the project will be posted on the course home page.

Regular quizzes will be given in tutorial almost every Friday starting Jan. 13th. Quiz dates are Jan. 13, 20, 27, Feb. 3, 17, March 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 -- for a total of 10 quizzes. There was supposed to be a quiz on Feb 10th, but it was cancelled. Your highest mark on the remaining quizzes wll be substituted for the quiz of Feb. 10th. Then the lowest of the 11 quiz marks will be dropped.

There will be an assignment for each quiz. The knowledge you need to do each quiz is a subset of the knowledge you need to do the corresponding assignment. Some (most) of the assignments include a computer part. You will bring printouts to the quiz and answer questions based on the printouts. Possibly, one of the quiz questions will be to hand in a printout. The non-computer parts of the assignments are just to prepare you for the quizzes; they will never be handed in.

Pop quizzes will be given in lecture. The number of pop quizzes and their timing is random and not known in advance, except that there will be no pop quizzes the first week. The pop quizzes will be very easy, and the marking will be generous.

Policy for missed work: If you miss a regular quiz or pop quiz, the mark is zero. However, your lowest quiz mark of each type will be dropped. If you miss a regular quiz with a valid excuse, your mark on the final exam (out of 10) will be substituted for the missing quiz mark, and the lowest remaining mark will still be dropped. A similar rule applies to the pop quizzes. If you believe you have a valid excuse for missing term work, please see Jerry (not Cristina) in person during office hours or before or after class.

According to university policy, your absence must be declared on ROSI on the day of the absence if your excuse is to be considered. So a suggestion is that if you miss any lecture for a valid reason, you should declare it on ROSI. That way you will be eligible for that mark to go on the final rather than being a zero -- assuming your excuse is valid.

But what is a valid excuse? Here are some guidelines. If you miss a quiz for medical reasons, you must submit a University of Toronto Medical Certificate (not just a note), available at

http://www.utm.utoronto.ca/fileadmin/w3reg/pdfs/OTR_Forms/medcert_web.pdf.

The certificate must include the statement that you were unable to write the test or quiz for medical reasons. If the certificate does not clearly state that you were unable to function, the excuse will not be accepted. Documentation must show that the physician was consulted on the day of the quiz, or on the next day. A statement merely confirming a report of illness made by the student is not acceptable.

On the other extreme, automotive breakdown or other transportation problems are never valid excuses. If you miss term work because you are taking another class at the same time as this one, that is not a valid excuse. The printer jammed, my dog ate it, etc. fall into the same category. If the University is officially open, weather is a valid excuse only if more than 50% of the class miss the quiz.

Plagiarism: It is academic dishonesty to present someone else's work as your own, or to allow your work to be copied for this purpose. To repeat: the person who allows her/his work to be copied is equally guilty, and subject to disciplinary action by the university.

Here are some guidelines that apply to the computer assignments. If there is a problem with plagiarism, it will probably happen here, since computer assignments may be handed in.

Accessibility Needs: We are committed to accessibility. If you require accommodations for a disability, or have any accessibility concerns about the course, the classroom or course materials, please contact Jerry or Accessibility Services (visit http://www.erin.utoronto.ca/~w3access or email accessconfirm.utm@utoronto.ca) as soon as possible.